Between 2013 and 2017, falling oil prices, the rampaging Islamic State and other internecine conflicts shrunk Iraq’s GDP from $235 billion to $197 billion. In the same period, early marriage for young women and girls skyrocketed.
The controversial rule is part of austerity measures the government is imposing to lower its debt. That includes rationing baby formula, which costs this nation $51 million annually in scarce foreign currency reserves.
Beirut, Lebanon, may be the one Arab capital where LGBT people are increasingly comfortable and safe.
And the competition for their membership is fiercer than ever.